The first time we experience rain by day, even the chicken hide underneath some large bowls made for drying rice or other food in the sun.

Even the rain cannot take away the charm of Hoi An, the only Vietnamese Ancient Town that was entirely spared from US-Vietnam war. As a European I am not entirely sensible for the differences in architecture and culture amongst the different Asian countries, but I feel Hoi An is a melting pot and an open-minded mixture of Vietnamese with Chinese, Japanese and even French influences. The romantic flair surely also is created by the canals that are winding through the city that starts to wake up now.

We pass the day looking for another place to stay the night (USD 38 for a large apartment-like hotel room with an in-room jacuzzi and a pool), exploring the city and visiting a tailor (read more here).

We also rented bikes to finally see the beach. From the Ancient Town where all the buzz is,  it takes about 30 minutes by bike to arrive. It’s off-season in November and you can tell by the high waves and rough sea that hotels are not be frequented a lot. Going by bike is not a problem at all. Hoi An is not a metropolis and traffic is acceptable, even for the average European cyclist.

When we returned to the Ancient town it slowly became dark. I had the feeling that Hoi An only awakens now, it was a magical feeling to see the lanterns everywhere in the narrow streets. Should you be lucky and visit on full moon there is a lantern festival going on, we were told. At the moment I can’t imagine how even more beautiful it must be.

Our evening was topped off with the most delicious scallops for an absurdly low price of USD 2.50 and the first reasonable Daiquiri of the whole trip so far.

// hotel: Long Life Riverside Hotel

// scallop heaven: Cargo Club